Christmas cookies, part 3: Mini Pecan Tarts

One-bite butter pecan tarts. So good!

When you make these, you might think, "Oh, I don't really need to toast the pecans." But I promise, toasting the nuts makes a difference.

You might think, "Oh, I can't be bothered to make pastry. I'll just buy frozen tart shells." But they won't be the same. Just sayin'.

Honestly, if you're going to make tarts from scratch, just go for it.

Mini Pecan Tarts

Pastry:
1 cup butter, softened 
6 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 1/4 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pastry: Beat the 1 cup butter and cream cheese until combined. Stir in the flour. Roll teaspoonfuls of pastry into little balls; then press evenly into the bottom and up the sides of 24 ungreased mini-muffin cups. (*Note: You can do this with your fingers, but I have a great little wooden tool for pressing the dough into the mini muffin cups. You just dip it in flour and press it into the little balls of dough. It was about $3 at a kitchen shop and well worth it.)

Pecan filling: Beat eggs, brown sugar, and the melted butter until combined. Stir in pecans. Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of filling into each pastry-lined muffin cup. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is lightly golden and filling is puffed. Cool slightly in pan, then carefully remove tarts from pan and let cool on a rack.

Christmas Cookies, Part 2: Chewy Ginger Cookies

These gingerbread cookies are soft and chewy on the inside, and sweet and crunchy on the outside (because they're rolled in sugar). 

I make a triple (!) batch of these cookies at Christmas and freeze them. They keep really well in the freezer and you can stack layers of them easily so they also travel really well without sticking.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup fancy molasses
1 egg
2 1/4  cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup coarse white sugar (try a bulk food store for this - it's usually in the same section as all the cake sprinkles and spices)
**If you can't find coarse white sugar, golden coarse sugar works fine (called "Sugar in the Raw")

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add molasses and mix well. Add the egg and blend till smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Stir into butter mixture.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate about an hour or till the dough is firm.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use a teaspoon to measure dough and shape into balls (I like using my small ice cream/cookie scoop but any spoon will do). Roll balls of dough in coarse sugar and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until tops are cracked and edges are firm, but the centres should be slightly underbaked. This will ensure that the cookies turn out chewy!

Christmas Cookies, Part 1: Brown Sugar Shortbread

I haven't posted here since August!! But now it's time for Christmas baking, so I'll try to post some of the recipes I make for the holidays over the next few weeks.

John's favourite Christmas cookie is shortbread, and he loves these big wedges of Brown Sugar Shortbread. I usually make at least two pans in the first week of December...and we usually run out before Christmas, so I end up making more. These cookies freeze really well.

Brown Sugar Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla


Prep the pan: lightly butter a shortbread mold or an 8-inch round pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
With an electric mixer, blend the butter and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Stir or blend in the flour and then the vanilla.

With your hands, lightly knead the dough until smooth. Press into the prepared pan. Prick the top of the shortbread with a fork, like this:

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees, until golden brown. (If in doubt, overbake it a little - you don't want the centre of the shortbread to be underdone.) Cool shortbread in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a cooling rack and cut into wedges while still warm.

Note: You can also roll little balls of dough and press with a fork to slightly flatten. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or till golden brown.